A Different Kind Of Valentine

Picture by Kitty Parsons

What if we got it wrong about dragons?

What if the maiden went willingly,

just to get away from a stifled life?

What if secretly she longed for the dragon’s touch,

willingly sought to cling to his jewel-bright back,

revelling in the heat of his breath

and the passion glinting in his emerald eye?

What if she sighed with frustration,

maybe allowed herself a slight stomp of her tiny foot

when the knight turned up, all scrubbed in his armour,

and took her back to her dull, ordinary, well-fed life?

Perhaps under demure lashes

she took one last long, lingering look

back at what might have been

before the drawbridge was raised.

All in all, when I look back

I think I might be glad I met more dragons than knights.

Only kidding…